Contents

Background

Another one of the Wilshire Corridor's more distinctive buildings is The Dorchester, built in 1989. This 17 story architectural beauty is home to 108 condominiums featuring two, three, and four bedroom floor plans ranging in size from 1400 to nearly 6000 square feet. This visually arresting building features lovely arches from the penthouse floors, yielding stunning views of the city and the Santa Monica Mountains.[1]

MacArthur Park looking towards downtown LA

In the early 1920s, Wilshire Boulevard to the west of Western Avenue was an unpaved farm road, running through dairy farms and bean fields. At that time Wilshire Boulevard ended at the MacArthur Park lake, but in 1934 a berm was built for it to cross and connect to Orange Street on the east side of the lake (which ran from Figueroa Street to Alvarado Street) into downtown Los Angeles. Orange Street was renamed Wilshire and extended east of Figueroa to its current end at Grand Street. The northern half of the then divided lake was subsequently drained.

Wilshire Boulevard was later integrated into the Pacific Electric Railroad System, an extensive network of trolley cars called "Red Cars". T his transit system included a Wilshire Boulevard line in the post-WWII era with parallel lines running on Santa Monica Boulevard, Olympic Boulevard, and San Vicente Boulevard. They were connected by north-south lines on Fairfax and Highland Avenues.[2]

Location

Running nearly 16 miles (just over 25 km) from Grand Avenue in Downtown Los Angeles to Ocean Avenue and the beaches in the City of Santa Monica, Wilshire Boulevard is a densely developed thoroughfare, linking five of Los Angeles's prime business districts to each other, as well as passing through Beverly Hills, where some of the world's most luxurious boutiques are found. Many of the post 1956 skyscrapers in Los Angeles are located along Wilshire and, one of the oldest and tallest is known simply as "One Wilshire."

Murphy sculpture garden at UCLA

Located on Wilshire Boulevard between Westwood and Beverly Hills, The Wilshire Corridor is home to a large concentration of luxurious condominiums in one of the most exclusive neighborhoods of Los Angeles. This meandering two mile section of Wilshire Boulevard to the east of Westwood Village is also known as the Millionaire’s Mile or the Golden Mile. Penthouse apartments in the corridor’s high rise condominiums can occasionally sell for amounts in excess of $20 million and numerous celebrities call this part of Wilshire Boulevard in Westwood home.

The widest portion of Wilshire Boulevard is in the business district of central Westwood, where hordes of pedestrians must brave ten lanes (including two left-turn pockets) to cross Wilshire at Westwood Boulevard. This and the nearby intersection of Wilshire and Veteran Avenue are among the busiest in Los Angeles.

The Wilshire corridor and the Dorchester are close to Westwood Village and the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) and only minutes away from Beverly Hills and downtown Los Angeles. The area is somewhat walk-able with some restaurants and shops within one mile of the building. Several car shares are nearby as well.[3]

Construction

Fenestration for windows

The Dorchester was completed in 1989 and stands approximately 64 meters, or 210 feet high. This pretty postmodern style building is one of the more unique buildings on Wilshire Boulevard and stands out due to it's high arches at the penthouses that frame the roof deck and swimming pool. Vertical rows of fenestration for windows adds character to the facade of the building.[4]

In October of 2011 FOUR POINT Design+Construction, Inc. was commissioned to develop a repair-and-work plan for the Homeowners Association to solve and control water intrusion and develop repair procedures for the complete repair and sealing of all windows.

Layout and Features

The grand marble lobby of The Dorchester greets residents and guests in opulent style. Riding the equally well finished elevators to the private residences yields spectacular views and luxurious features. Most residences have been upgraded and many include hardwood flooring, crown molding, stainless steel appliances, granite or Caesarstone counter tops, marble baths, and walk-in closets. While each unit is now unique, the general feel and prestigious layouts offer excellent design and comfortable living spaces.

Home Owners Association fees range from approximately $1,200 to $2,000 per month.

The Dorchester's lobby

Another view of the lobby

Bathroom

Another bathroom view

Bedroom

A Dorchester kitchen

Another view of kitchen

Living room

Floor Plans

Floor plans for The Dorchester are not publicly available. See references below for several video walkthroughs of the building and apartments.[5][6][7]

The Dorchester has a mix of two bedroom apartments ranging in size from 1,403 to 2,071 square feet, three bedrooms from 1,805 to 5,957 square feet and four bedroom, two level penthouses that are 5,919 square feet in size.

Amenities

Amenities at The Dorchester include 24 hour security, valet, and concierge. The building features a lovely rooftop sun deck with swimming pool and gas barbecue for resident's use. A modern fitness room comes with all the standard exercise equipment. There is also a banquet/meeting room available for residents.

Exercise room

Another view of exercise room

Helipad

Sauna

Rooftop deck and swimming pool

Another view of deck and pool

Bylaws

Dorchester Bylaws

Rentals

Yes

Pets

Yes

Age

No

The Dorchester is an all ages building that welcomes pets, although the numbers and sizes are restricted. So you may have to trade your Great Dane or Irish Wolfhound in for a more Los Angles compatible chihuahua or similar purse dog.

Rental of units is allowed as well.

Sustainability

The Dorchester predates the mainstream environmental movement and as such the building itself does not posses any "green" features. Residents may take steps in their own lives to live a more sustainable life.

Some examples of lifestyle choices include:

Skipping bottled water. While water is essential to life, the process of mining the raw material, processing and manufacturing the petroleum-based plastic water bottles and shipping them to your local shop is an energy intensive endeavor. Filter your own water and filling your own reusable bottles for water on-the-go is a better alternative.

Supply your own bags and leftover containers. If you're venturing out to a restaurant that you know serves extra large portions, bring your own Tupperware container along to take home the leftovers, and keep one fewer Styrofoam or paper container from the landfill pile. Heading to the supermarket for your groceries? Step away from of the paper vs. plastic debate and bring your own canvas tote bags. Although many supermarkets recycle used plastic bags, the process still requires much energy to be used to transport and process the materials.

Buy items with less packaging, and with packaging that your community recycles. For example, it may be more convenient to buy snack crackers already divided into individual portions in plastic bags, however that creates much more waste packaging than just buying the full box and separating the portions yourself.[8]

Trivia

The Peterson Automotive Museum

The Wilshire Boulevard home of J. Paul Getty was used as the film set for the 1950 film Sunset Boulevard: it was demolished in 1957.[9]

Actress Daphne Maxwell Reid (born July 13, 1948), best known for her role as Vivian Banks on the NBC sitcom The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air was a resident of The Dorchester.

The Miracle Mile to the east of the Wilshire Corridor is home to numerous museums where visitors can find anything from a Monet landscapes to the fossilized fang of a saber-toothed cat along Museum Row. Destinations include the Page Museum at the La Brea Tar Pits (5801 Wilshire Blvd., www.tarpits.org), the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (5905 Wilshire Blvd., www.lacma.org), and the Petersen Automotive Museum (6060 Wilshire Blvd., www.petersen.org).